The Angel & The Devil
by JaninaM8
Summary: *No longer a one shot!* Jane is an angel and Loki is a devil, and they are both charged with guiding a human through life. Sparks will most definitely fly...
1. Chapter 1

Jane sighed as she rested her elbow on her knee and plopped her chin in the palm of her hand. She ignored the enthusiastic sounds of sex underneath her as she sat on the roof of her charge, Alexander.

Loki appeared beside her, dressed all in black, one foot on the curve of the roof and the other extended behind him as though he were in the middle of a stretch. He grinned at her, tossing his dark black hair off his face with the shake of his head and exposing his little red horns. "Why didn't you stick around for the festivities? Is your Creator so much a Puritan that he deems sex crass?"

Jane shot him a look. "No, Loki, he is not. I just know how base you are and that the bedroom is the one place I have no control over Alexander. All his blood travels south of the border and you tell him all those kinky things to do to his girlfriends...or random lovers as the case may be."

She stood and straightened her long white dress. She unfurled her wings, equally as white, and prepared herself to fly off. There was nothing more annoying than a victorious Loki. Devil that he was, he'd convinced Alexander to sleep with that girl and ruin his chances with Denise. Denise was such a good girl and Alexander truly did love her, but then that girl had come around and Loki had slipped right in.

Men and their gosh darn libidos.

She just hoped Archangel Michael wouldn't be too upset with her for failing to stop Alexander from giving into that other woman.

"Now, now, Jane. Must you fly off so quick?" Loki asked her. "Losing a round doesn't become you. You did stop Alex from keeping that money that old lady dropped on the ground last week. You got him to give it back to her despite my best efforts."

Jane lifted her chin. "I believe that Alexander is inherently good. It didn't take much coaxing on my part to get him to do the right thing."

Loki guffawed at that, his green eyes taking on that glimmer when he was about to argue with her. Of course he didn't call it arguing. He called it a "discussion".

"And what is the 'right thing', Jane? He didn't have enough money for his electric bill and that fifty would have helped him."

"Denise helped him with his bill. I believe that was part of the plan—"

"Oh, here we go with the 'plan' again. Great Beelzebub, Jane, do you ever think that maybe Michael is blowing smoke up your ass?"

Jane's wings fluttered in annoyance. "Loki, you are very good at your job—"

"Did that _burn _you to admit?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "No. I tell the truth. It's what I do. As I was saying – you are good at what you do, but pray do not use me as a target. I am not so easily swayed."

"You don't think so?"

She extended her wings and got ready to take flight. "Goodbye, Loki." She shot up, but didn't make it far before she felt something on her ankle, pulling her down. She looked down and found Loki with a cane crooked around her foot. "Let go!" she demanded.

"No, I'm not finished talking with you."

"Well, I am finished talking to you." She was aware that she sounded like a petulant brat but she couldn't help it where Loki was concerned. It wasn't that she bought into any of the garbage he spewed about "the right thing", but it was the fact that arguing with him made her feel things she wasn't comfortable with. It excited her. Sometimes he would get really close to her, so close she could feel the heat of him on her skin. She wasn't supposed to be excited by him. It was wrong.

"Jane, please. I promise I won't arg—discuss with you anymore about 'the right thing'. Just come down here."

"I don't want to stay here any longer, Loki," she told him. "Alexander and that woman will be at it for a while after all the things you've no doubt whispered to him, and I don't care to hear it anymore."

"Then come with me somewhere."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"I'm asking nicely."

That wasn't an answer. She folded her arms across her chest.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you look when the sun hits your hair? It shines like a carnelian stone in the sun and matches your eyes."

Jane gaped at him, speechless.

His smile fell and he looked absolutely solemn. The only other time he looked this solemn was when he'd tried to get Alexander to shoot the guy that had broken into his apartment. He had been angry when Jane succeeded in convincing Alexander not to. "Please, Jane. Spend some time with me."

Archangel Michael would tell her that she should use every opportunity to help the lost find the light. Loki was a devil, and a darn good one, so it was possible that he was utterly lost to the cause, but Jane was nothing if not committed. Loki said she was as stubborn as a bull and never let up. Neither did he, so what did he expect? Trying to guide a human through life was hard work – especially with a devil like Loki as her opponent. One had to be perseverant.

"Where do you want to go?" she found herself asking.

"Let's go somewhere you like. All the places I prefer you wouldn't sully your wings flying into."

He was right about that. Crack dens, racing tracks, some alleyways…nope.

"The park across town. The one Alexander likes to go to. I want to feed the ducks," she said.

He smiled. "Meet you there."

xxxxxxxxx

It was odd to sit on a bench with Loki and not argue with him. It was odd to be anywhere with him and not have him open his mouth and ruin the peace and quiet.

"Do you think me terribly kinky, Jane?" he asked finally.

She looked at him. "Pardon?"

"You said that I no doubt made Alex do kinky things with what's-her-face. What sorts of things do you think I'd make him do?"

"I'm not answering that," she said and looked back at the ducks.

He stretched his arm out along the back of the bench and stretched his legs out before him. "How about I guess? If I name what you think kinky, you just nod. Deal?"

"Loki—"

"Blow job."

She sighed and just stared straight ahead.

"Cunnilingus."

She still said nothing.

"Handcuffs."

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. He grinned. "How about…anal?"

She looked at him sharply and he laughed. "Well, I can tell you that he—"

"I don't want to know!" she exclaimed and got to her feet. "Why do you do torment me, Loki?"

"I'm a devil."

"I know, but you don't have to talk to me. Our job is Alexander. We don't have to speak to each other. We sometimes spend more time arguing—"

"Discussing."

"—than we do doing our jobs. I'm not your job!"

"That's never stopped you from thinking that maybe you could change me though, has it?

She clamped her mouth shut.

He stood. "There it is. You have. The difference, Jane, is that I do not wish to change you, but you wish to change me."

Her brows furrowed. "Why wouldn't you wish to change me? Wouldn't that be a big coup for you to convert an angel?"

He nodded. "Yes, it would. But converting you would mean losing what I love most about you."

Jane could do nothing but stare at him in shock. She was rooted to the spot, even has he glided forward and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss. Jane couldn't decide if he kissed like a devil or an angel. All she knew was that she found herself clinging to him as all the years they spent together, and all the years she had tried to avoid thinking about this very thing all collided at once and caused her to kiss him back as passionately as he was kissing her.

He broke the kiss first and what they'd just done – what she's allowed herself to do crashed in on her. She'd kissed a devil! She'd kissed him like a wanton! She clamped a hand to her mouth. What would Archangel Michael say? What would he do to her?

"Jane," Loki said. "Don't blow a gasket."

"I have to go," she said and flew off before he could stop her.

Loki watched his angel soar above the clouds and his eyes narrowed as a determined and predatory smile spread across his face. "You can run, my Jane, but you will never be able to hide from me."


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Jane flew straight up into the heavens as fast as her wings would take her. Could one out-fly a kiss? She didn't think so, but she was willing to try.

"Jane!"

At the sound of her friend, Sif, calling out to her, Jane slowed her flight and looked down to find Sif waving frantically from her cloud. Her cloud that included a house, a three-acre plot, and a barn with horses in it. At first glance, it appeared as a small cloud, like most of them did. However, once one was actually on the cloud, it was as expansive as any parcel of land on Earth would be that had a house and several acres. Such was the beauty and magic of the angelic realm.

Jane shuddered to think how ugly Hell must be. She'd only seen pictures of it in her Guardian Angels 101 class with Archangel Michael. It did not look like a place she'd ever want to visit. It was like a dry, desert landscape. Much like the one she'd seen when Alexander had taken a trip to Arizona. Expect in Hell it was continuously dark and there were caves all over the places and random fires burning. And, according to Gabriel, there was the sound of humans wailing and gnashing their teeth as they burned in the various pits of Hell. Dante, as it turned out, was not far off with his descriptions. According to Gabriel, Dante had sold his soul to the devil to write that piece, and now resided in hell as some kind of demon. Loki thought he was overrated.

Jane imagined that the devils and demons that resided there were privy to random bouts of violence – violence they inflicted on one another. This was partly due to her active imagination, and due to Loki's interest in violence. He had mentioned once that he wanted to be able to graduate to demon (apparently they had more power), and work with soldiers. She could just imagine the destruction he'd wreak.

To think that she'd kissed that devil! What was the matter with her? She felt herself flush at the memory of it, and her lips tingled.

She drifted down to Sif's cloud, her smile growing as she took in the lush green grass of Sif's lawn, the red roses and pink tulips in her flowerbed in front of her house, and the horses grazing in the field. She could even see a replica of the snow-capped mountains in Montana in the distance.

Sif's large ranch house suited her perfectly. It was open and airy and boasted a large fireplace in the living room, master bedroom, and guest bedroom. There was a Jacuzzi in the backyard, too. Everything was neat and in its place and Jane wished she could be as neat and orderly as Sif. She didn't envy…she wasn't allowed to envy.

When Jane landed she smiled at her friend and they hugged. Sif was dressed in tan riding pants, black boots that went up to her knees, and a black t-shirt. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and some sweat caused stray strands to cling to Sif's forehead. It was always sunny and hot on Sif's cloud.

Jane had set her cloud to match the weather in Boston, Massachusetts where Alexander lived. Too much sun and she grew bored; too much rain and she grew melancholy. Angels like her and Sif – guardian angels sent to guide a human often had more human traits than the other angels did, like the archangels. The higher up you went, the less human the angels became. It was Jane's goal to get there one day, to become like her mentors. Then for sure Loki would never get under her feathers.

"You looked a bit troubled as you were flying by," Sif said as she stood back and studied Jane with narrowed eyes. "Tough day on the job?"

"Loki won this round."

"Jane, you know better. It's not about winning or losing; it's about what's best for Alexander and his Plan for the Betterment of Earth."

"Denise was perfect for his Plan for the Betterment of Earth, but this girl that Loki's got him involved with…I'm pretty sure I know where _she_ came from."

"You could be wrong. Remember you thought the same about his friend in middle school and it turned out that Roger was from The Light. It's not where they came from that matters—"

"It's what their choices are," Jane finished. It was something she'd heard often from Archangel Michael. She didn't judge…she wasn't allowed to judge.

"So, is that what's bothering you? Loki's influence on Alexander?"

Jane felt a lie coming. Another no-no that she sometimes engaged in.

"What is it, Jane?" Sif asked.

"Can we go inside?" Jane asked. Though they were relatively out of hearing distance from cherubs and other guardian angels passing by, she couldn't afford to take any chances. As it was she feared Archangel Michael already knew. He knew _everything_, even when she thought he couldn't possibly, he did.

Sif looked worried as she led Jane down the cobbled stone path to her house and they went inside. Feeling overdressed, Jane waved her hand down her body and changed into an outfit similar to Sif's.

They made their way into Sif's gloriously huge kitchen and Sif went to the fridge while Jane sat at the table and fiddled with a napkin. By the time Sif came to the table with lemonade for both of them, Jane had the napkin shredded. Sif arched her brow and sat down. "Something truly is bothering you."

"Loki kissed me," Jane blurted out. "And I let him. I liked it. I kissed him like a wanton and I wanted to kiss him more."

Sif's chocolate brown eyes went wide. "Jane!"

"And I fell asleep during Archangel Michael's lecture last week. I also watched part of a pornographic movie that Alexander was watching. I entertained bad thoughts about Guardian Angel Maria yesterday. I wanted to push her off a cloud."

"Jane, stop!"

Jane clamped a hand over her mouth before more confessions came spilling out.

Sif reached across the table and tugged on Jane's elbow. Jane removed her hand from her mouth. "I'm sorry."

"This isn't a confessional, Jane."

"I know."

"The problem at hand is that you kissed Loki."

Jane nodded. "I know."

"You say you liked it?"

Jane nodded again.

Sif bit her lip. "What was it like?"

"Sif!" It was Jane's turn to be shocked.

Sif shrugged, looking a bit guilty, though not as much as she should in Jane's opinion. Sif was supposed to help her move past this and put an end to it, not encourage her.

"Well?" Sif pressed.

"You know those decadent chocolate lava cakes that Archangel Raphael makes?"

Sif's gaze immediately glazed over. Those chocolate lava cakes were _that _delicious. "Yes," Sif whispered, nearly moaning in ecstasy.

"It was like that."

"Oh heavens, Jane," Sif murmured.

"I know."

"You are in so much trouble."

"No," Jane said with a firm shake of her head. "Because it is never going to happen again."

"Are you sure?"

Jane glared at her friend. She wasn't being very helpful at all. "You know it can't. I'm a Guardian Angel; a GA. He's a devil with demon aspirations. If Archangel Michael found out…"

"You could be—"

"Don't say it!" Jane begged her.

"Made into a mortal," Sif finished on a whisper.

Together, they shuddered.

xxxxxxxxx

"Jane," Loki gasped as he spilled his seed on the floor of his shower. He had one arm braced against the wall of the shower and he felt his knees weaken as the last of his jizz oozed out of his cock.

Hounds of Hell, he wanted that GA. That kiss had only fanned that flame into a fire. Jane didn't kiss like an innocent angel. She kissed like a demon – and Loki should know for he'd kissed more than one.

He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, hurriedly changing into a fresh pair of clothes and then made his way into his living room where his friend, a fellow devil, sat on his overstuffed couch and played Call of Duty.

Malkeith's specialty was addiction and procrastination. He attempted to lead his humans down the path of self-destruction. He even had clearance to connect with his humans from Hell so he could corrupt them all from the comfort of his living room – or Loki's as the case may be. Mal looked the part, too. He looked like Alexander after a weekend spent gaming in his apartment without a shower and anything of nutritional value to eat: unkempt and blurry-eyed. Mal's white blond hair looked as though it hadn't been washed in days and was just pulled back in a messy ponytail, and his blue eyes were currently red-rimmed.

Loki found himself looking around his sparsely decorated living room and imagining what it would like through Jane's eyes. If ever he was able to convince her to visit him…he doubted it, but a devil had to try.

The walls were red. She'd hate that. Too Satan-y and hellish she'd say. He had a framed picture of Ozzie Osbourne on his wall – and the man himself had signed it. She'd hate that, too.

He had a picture of a Satanic altar from Salem, Massachusetts after he'd visited that particular group for a night of debauchery and depravity. She would definitely hate that.

His furniture was black…and Fuck, was it always this boring?

Loki waved a hand and changed his black furniture to a rich mahogany. He also cleared up the wood floor from stray liquor bottles. He'd been working way too much and hadn't had any time to clean. He usually wasn't such a slob. And if he wanted Jane, he couldn't afford to be.

"What the fuck, man!" Mal exclaimed. "Don't do that shit while I'm playing, it's distracting." He put the game on pause and looked around. "Did you just change your furniture?"

"Yes," Loki said and then waved his hand and changed the walls from red to a pale gray.

"What are you doing?" Mal asked. Loki ignored him and got up to take down the photos. Loki carried them into his bedroom and put them in his closet. When he came back out into the living room, Mal was staring at him.

"What?" Loki asked.

"What are you _doing_?!"

Loki shrugged. "I'm bored with the décor."

"Nah, dude. You love that autographed photo of Ozzie. You were the one that got him to take that leak at the Alamo. Do you remember the party we threw down here after that? It went on for three days!"

"Hard to forget," Loki muttered. He'd had so much sex at the party he'd chafed. He dragged his hands through his wet hair and groaned. What was he doing? Had he actually fallen for a GA? A GA that spent most of her time appalled and disgusted with him? How the fuck had this happened? He'd had such a promising career. He was on the fast track to demonhood so Satan_ said_…

"Is it a chick?" Mal asked.

Loki looked at him. "What?"

"Is it a chick? Some devil you want to bang? Or a demon?"

"No…"

"Then – Dante's Inferno, don't tell me! The GA?"

Loki nodded slowly. "Don't you dare tell anyone either. I'll string you up by your unclipped toe nails over a molten lava pit."

Mal shook his head, unable to clear the shock from his face. "How the fuck did this happen?"

"I don't know, all those hours spent on the job, one thing leads to another…"

"Did one thing lead to another or are you hoping they will?"

"You gossip like a teenager, anyone ever tell you that?" Loki groused.

"Yeah, I don't care. Inquiring minds want to know. Did something happen?"

"I kissed her."

"Hell's bells! How was it?"

"I rubbed one out in the shower, what does that tell you?" He decided not to tell his friend about the bit where Loki told Jane he loved her. Devils and demons could love as well as any other creature, but loving an angel? And frankly, Loki wasn't sure if he'd meant it, though he had certainly felt he'd meant it in the moment…

Mal's eyes went wide. "Wow. A fucking GA. Though, I must say she is hot with that tight body—"

"Watch your mouth," Loki growled.

Mal started to laugh. "Are you defending her _honor _now? Oh, that is rich!"

Loki said nothing. He had to think. He couldn't think with Mal here making comments and asking him questions.

"I want you to go now," Loki said.

Mal rolled his bloodshot eyes. "Give me a break, man. I'm only teasing you."

"No, I need to think about what I am going to do about this. I kissed an angel. And I liked it. I want more of it –of her."

"But you come from two different worlds. Fuck, it's almost romantic and shit." Mal punctuated that with a shudder. He stood. "Well, for what it's worth, I think if you want her you should bang her first, get it out of your system."

"I 'bang' her and she falls from grace, Mal."

"So?"

"So, she'd hate me for an eternity!"

"What the fuck do you care? If you bang her and you decide she's a terrible lay then who the fuck cares what happens to her? Hell is a big place, Loki. You could just move. If it turns out though that she's a great lay and she falls, then you'd have converted an angel. Do you know how fast you'd make demon status then?"

Loki scratched his chin thoughtfully. He had told Jane he didn't want to change her and that much was true, but Mal was right, it could get him into demon status a lot quicker…and if it meant he got demon status _and_ Jane then who was he to complain about that?


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Jane's cloud was made up of a three-story Victorian home painted powder blue and cream. She loved it. It was spacious and airy and had shiny hardwood floors. Her plot was expansive, at least 2 acres of woods for her to walk through when she needed time to think. Her woodland friends were some of her best friends and they would often sit with her when she was able to find the time.

Currently though, Jane was not loving much of anything in her house. She looked around her living room and decided that she needed help organizing her angelic life better. She had paper, books, clothes, and shoes scattered all about. The rest of the house didn't look that much better. She knew that without even having to look.

Jane chose to clean her home by hand rather than resorting to her powers to do so. Like most G.A.'s who wanted better to understand their charges, Jane had chosen to live, for the most part, like a human. As much as angel could anyway. There were some limitations such as the fact that she didn't feel pain the way a human did, and she didn't necessarily need to shower the way a human did – though she did enjoy doing so. There was something quite soothing about water cascading down all around her. Even if she did have to take a blow-dryer to her wings after, or go for a jaunt in the clouds to dry them off. And though she didn't need to eat or drink, she often did. Angels were big on chocolate – all of them. Rumor had it a G.A. who graduated to Muse inspired the invention of chocolate.

Loki said that angels had chocolate because they didn't have sex.

He was wrong. Angels did have sex. Just not a lot of it. There was no time. Fighting the forces of darkness was a job and a half and it was understood that angels needed to be in committed relationships before they had sex. There wasn't much time to cultivate those.

So, okay, yes. In a sense, Loki was right.

And, come to think of it, there were scads of chocolate to be found everywhere. Archangel Michael had a wicked sweet tooth but no one called attention to it. If there was anyone that needed to have sex badly –

"Good job, Jane. Insult your mentor," Jane muttered to herself.

As though he had heard her errant thoughts a piece of white paper floated down from her ceiling. Speak of the angel…

Jane held out her hand and the paper drifted into it.

_Jane_

_I wish to speak with you. Please meet me in my classroom at your earliest convenience. _

_Thank you, _

_AM_

If Jane could swear, she would. Archangel Michael wanted to speak to her. She slapped a hand to her forehead and moaned. He knew! He knew she'd kissed Loki and _liked it._

What would become of her now? Would she be made mortal? She would rather be sent to – no, not there. Not H-E-double hockey sticks. That would be a fate worse than becoming mortal. Or at least a close second. Earth was such a mess…when she thought of Alexander and how much time he spent doubting himself, getting in his own way, denying his potential, and self-destructing. She just didn't get it. Why were humans filled with such self-doubt? Why did they exert so much energy worrying over stupid things? Why did they do things to harm themselves and others? Wasn't it easier to get along with each other than fight so much?

Watching them bumbling about trying to figure out their lives and having moments of complete clarity before their ego got in the way and blew it all to H-E-double hockey sticks…it was exhausting. No wonder angels didn't have time for relationships or sex. No wonder Archangel Michael had a stash of chocolate that would put mortal women with PMS to shame.

Jane heaved a deep sigh (another thing angels didn't have to do, but did anyway: breathe), and walked back out of her house. She looked up, braced herself, and then flew up to see what Archangel Michael wanted to talk to her about.

xxxxxxxx

Archangel Michael was a rather large angel, and he could change his size on a whim. Jane had seen him grow as tall as a redwood and shrink to the size of a chipmunk. In fact, she had seen him actually turn into a chipmunk and a tree. It all depended on what the humans he watched over needed at the time. Yes, Archangel Michael watched over humans, too. When one was an Archangel one could do exactly what humans wished they could do: be in several places at once.

At the moment, the Archangel was standing behind his podium, the one he stood behind when teaching his G.A.'s. He was writing something down. He had a shock of blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore silver armor and a blue sash and kilt. His sword and shield were never far behind. Currently, they were on the desk behind the podium. And, no matter how imposing the thought of him was, his actual presence was comforting. Being around Archangel Michael was almost like being around The Creator. Both inspired that feeling of comfort and a willingness to do anything they asked.

When he saw her, he smiled. "Hello, Jane. How's my favorite G.A. today?"

"I'm not your favorite."

His smile fell and he nodded. "You're right, you're not. I don't play favorites."

She sighed. "I know." She clasped her hands in front of her tightly. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

"Alexander."

Relief flooded through Jane and she smiled. "Okay, yes. What about Alexander?"

"How is he doing on his PBE?"

"His Plan for the Betterment of Earth? Well, we had a setback."

"The other woman?"

"Yes. I couldn't convince him to not have relations with her." She smirked. "He was out of chocolate." The joke was DOA. Archangel Michael just looked at her quizzically and Jane waved a hand dismissively. "Never mind. I tried my best but Loki had too much sway over him."

Archangel Michael sighed. "Well, this might set him back. It depends, of course, on what his next course of action will be after this; if he chooses to tell Denise what he did or if he will hide it. We of course want him to be honest and work things out with Denise. If he continues on the path with this other woman then we project him getting involved in an array of troubles that could even put him on the path for an early demise."

Jane's jaw dropped. "Alexander could die?"

"They're humans, Jane. They all die at some point."

The other thing about Archangel Michael? He could be annoyingly literal.

"No, I mean, early. He could die early."

Archangel Michael nodded, looking as solemn as ever.

"But he can't die early!" Jane exclaimed. "He has so much he's supposed to do! He hasn't made amends with his father yet, he hasn't been to Comic Con. His art hasn't been discovered yet—

"Denise was the catalyst for all of that. With this other woman…"

"Archangel Michael, can't you intervene? Can't you do _something_?"

"No, Jane. If I interfere with him then all the other G.A.'s will expect—"

"I know, I know," Jane muttered, not even caring that she'd just cut off the Big Guy. She'd been with Alexander since he was a baby. Sure he could make a bungle of things, and he didn't realize what a talented artist he was – not with all the things his father had done to undermine him – and now this. Now because of a romp that Loki had pushed so hard for, Alexander could die before being discovered, before reaching his PBE –

Her small hands turned into fists. "I'm going to fix this," she said.

Archangel Michael smiled. "I have faith in you, Jane."

"Thank you," she said. "If you'll excuse me."

She flew off, heading back to Earth, heading back to fix what had been broken. She had to save her human, her Alexander. If Loki's pushing for Alexander to sleep with that other woman caused her human to die, well then H-E-double hockey sticks would hath no fury like an angel scorned.

xxxxxxx

"Do you ever just take a break?" Loki asked when he'd arrived at Alexander's to find Jane spritzing a bottle of the perfume Denise wore in the air. Alexander had bought her a bottle and he was going to wrap it up all nice and give it to her for the encouragement she'd given him on his graphic novel before _that other woman_ had come over and ruined everything. No, it wasn't _that other woman_ so much as Loki.

She shot him a glare and it must have been pretty ferocious for he held up his hands and backed off. But then he laughed and ruined it all.

"I'm not allowed to hate," she told him, "but I can say that I strongly dislike you right now." She spritzed more perfume in the air as Alexander walked by.

He stopped mid-stride on his way to his bedroom and sniffed the air.

Jane grinned and went over to him. She whispered in his ear, "Denise."

Alexander's semi-handsome face scrunched up in disgust and he turned away from the door.

"The girl in your bedroom takes it in the ass," Loki said loudly.

Alexander looked toward the door.

"Denise might if you just ask her," Jane said.

Alexander turned away from the door.

"You know she won't," Loki said.

"But she loves you enough that she might and really, Alexander, is that such a deal breaker? She might enjoy other sexual adventures," Jane said.

Alexander just stood there in his living room in his Captain America boxer shorts and did nothing.

"Frankly, I'm appalled with you, Jane," Loki told her. "_Maybe_ Denise would take it in the tush? How desperate are you?"

"I'm not going to let you get your hooks in him, Loki, and ruin his life! His _entire_ life! What would be the point of those endless hours he's spent on his graphic novel? He was going to inspire kids and adults alike with its publication."

"So, it gets published posthumously and we both win."

"No," she spat and looked at Alexander. "Oh for crying out loud, Alexander, do something!"

Alexander did. He went to the bathroom. Jane threw up her arms in exasperation.

"What's gotten into you?" Loki smirked. "The fear of God?"

Jane then did something she'd never done before. To anyone, ever. Not even Loki at his worst. She marched up to him and slapped him hard across the face. She was going to get in big trouble for this and the kicker was? _She didn't care._


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Loki, with his head snapped to the side from Jane's slap, took a moment for it to settle in that she had actually slapped him. Jane. Guardian _Angel _Jane had slapped him across the face. And though he didn't feel it the way a human would, it was hard enough to make his head turn and that was how he knew the force she had put behind it. That's how he knew she meant business.

He had angered her plenty of times before, but never to this point. He looked at her in shock and found her practically radiating with fury. Then he saw the tears in her eyes and took a step back from her. He had never seen her cry. Not even when Alex had gotten into a car accident that he could have died from – had Jane not intervened of course. His injuries had been extensive and Jane had worried over him like a new mother. There hadn't been much he could do so he'd just sat with Jane a few times and taken her mind off her worry by regaling her with all the terrible things he'd make Alex do when he got better.

Loki felt out of his element. Not that he wasn't a stranger to pain – he inflicted a lot of it, and had witnessed a ton of it. What he was a stranger to, however, was having Jane express it.

She glared at him. "Leave. I want you to leave," she told him.

"You know that I can't."

She flew at him, knocking him back to the floor and caused them to slide several feet to the wall behind them. They thudded against the wall with a loud thud. Loki heard the woman in the bedroom call out, "Alex?"

"Leave him alone!" Jane shouted in Loki's face. She was straddling him, her dress up to her thighs. She began to pound on his chest with her small fists. He didn't feel it of course, but it was still a nuisance. He grabbed her wrists. "Jane, stop! What's gotten into you?"

Tears started to stream down her face as she looked at him, looking like a wild thing with her carnelian colored hair in disarray around her face. "I won't let you send Alexander to an early grave. He has too much to do, to accomplish, and _that other woman_ will destroy him."

He hadn't realized that would happen to Alex just by sleeping with _that other woman_. Apparently, though, Jane was privy to information he hadn't been. Typical. Devils and demons were really shitty on communication. But, he supposed, it didn't matter to any of them what happened to Alex. It only mattered that while on Earth he was a badass. Alex wasn't much of one. Not with Jane around. She was clearly the stronger of the two of them when it came to influencing Alex. Wasn't that bloody depressing?

Loki decided to perhaps change tactics. Jane was distraught. He knew she loved Alex and wanted the best for him. That's what all the angels ever wanted for the humans. It was downright sickening.

He rolled them over so that he was the one straddling her and he tried his level best to not notice how their bodies fit together so well. Her wings were spread out under her and she glared at him when he wouldn't let her wrists go despite her struggles.

"Did it every occur to you that if Alex dies that means that woman in there could be so affected that she'll stop her drug addiction, go on the straight and narrow, and inspire other junkies to straighten their lives out?" The thing with angels was that they saw things only one way sometimes and didn't see the alternatives. They all wanted what was best for the "Greater Good" and didn't often see there could be many roads to get to that same goal. Granted, there would always be devils and demons to try and thwart that, but he didn't have to tell Jane that.

"Nice try," she said. "I have past the point of believing anything that comes out of your mouth, Loki. You've lost your silver tongued approach with me."

She kicked at him and sent him flying off her. She then grabbed him by his shirt and flew straight up. They flew through the ceiling and up to the sky. Jane flew up high past the rooftops, nearly to the clouds and flapped her wings furiously. Loki knew she was probably going to drop him from this height. He would fall, surely. Not all devils could fly. He could transport himself, but not in mid-air.

So, he grabbed onto her. Gripped her arms tightly. And then he did something that was probably bad timing considering how furious she was with him, and considering that they were in the sky.

He kissed her. Because why not? He wasn't exactly great on picking his moments, and he wasn't exactly great and denying himself something he wanted for very long. Truth be told, she was so goddamn glorious in her righteous anger that he was massively turned on.

Unlike before though, Jane wasn't having any of it. She pushed him off her and he lost his grip and went sailing through the air. Fuck. He hoped he didn't hit a few buildings or trees on the way down.

But then, just as he was about to hit a tree, Jane was there, grabbing him and flying them to the top of Alex's roof.

He smiled at her. "I knew it. You're crazy about me."

She said nothing. Just folded her arms across her chest and looked at him.

"Listen, we'll let Alex make his choice without either of us making suggestions, okay? That's my best offer here, Jane. Take it or leave it."

She still didn't answer. Then he heard a woman shouting down below. "You fuck me and then kick me out? You're an asshole, Alexander Moss! I hate you, you fucking fuck! And you know what? You're a lousy fucking lay!"

Loki went to the edge of the roof and looked down. _That other woman_ was the one screaming. He looked at Jane who was smiling triumphantly.

"Well, he's made his fucking choice!" Loki said in a burst of irritation. "Happy now, Jane?"

"Very," she said. And flew off.

Loki glared after her. Well, she'd gotten what she'd wanted. "Yes, well, let's see if he tells Denise what he did!" he shouted after her. "She could find out and end things with him, sending him back to square one, you know!"

Hands fisted, Loki called it a day and went back home.

xxxxxxxxx

Jane arrived on Sif's cloud minutes after Sif had returned. Jane had "phoned" Sif in to help with Alexander while Loki had been freefalling through the sky. Underhanded? Yes. But she'd been desperate.

Alexander was her human she was responsible for him. She loved him very much, and even though Sif had her own human to guide, Jane had needed help badly. Loki was stronger than she was and Jane had to do what she had to do to ensure Alexander did not get put into an early grave. Archangel Michael would surely look down on her sneaky methods, but she hoped he'd look instead at the big picture: Alexander was, for the time being, safe.

"Thank you," Jane gushed and hugged her friend tightly. "Thank you _so_ much."

Sif smiled at her friend. "You sounded desperate."

"I was."

"Is everything right in your Alexander's world now?"

Jane thought of Denise and how she had to make sure Alexander told her what happened with _that other woman_. Loki would do his best to thwart that. She would do her very best then to thwart him. She smiled weakly. "It will be." _I hope._


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

"You seem down," Sif said the following morning as Jane, perched on the fence where Sif exercised her horses, watched her friend do just that. "Shouldn't you feel victorious right about now?"

Jane frowned and dug her chin into the palm of her hand. It was beautiful here on Sif's cloud. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. On her cloud, however, there had been nothing but storm clouds. She thought of Alexander and how he would get particularly maudlin on days like that. Apparently, so did she.

"I thought I would feel victorious," Jane said. "I mean, you got Alexander to give that other woman the boot."

"But?"

"But I just feel dirty."

Sif laughed. "I see."

"How can devils and demons do it? How do they not feel gross after?"

"They don't care, Jane. That's how they are able to do it. The difference between them and us is that we care about our charges. We care about the bigger plan, too, but we ultimately want our charges to be happy. All the devils and demons care about is their ultimate plan for Earth."

"Death. Destruction," Jane muttered.

"Yes."

"They'll never be rid of us, don't they know that? We will always be in existence, fighting for mankind."

Sif looked at her friend sympathetically. "Yes, and they will always be there too, Jane." She dropped her riding crop and let her horse free to roam the corral. "Is that all that's bothering you? The endless battle between us and them?"

Jane sighed. "No."

"I didn't think so. What is it?"

Jane furrowed her brow and sat up straighter. "I think Loki kissed me only to butter me up and distract me from doing my job. I don't think he meant a word of what he said, and to make it worse when I was in the middle of trying to get him out of Alexander's apartment, he did it again."

"Kissed you?"

"Yes. And I dropped him. I was going to let him drop because I was so angry with him."

"But you didn't."

"No. I caught the little fu…meanie."

Sif shot her a warning look and then pointed at her. "You're letting personal feelings for Loki interfere with your work. That has to stop."

Jane sighed. "I know. I think it helps to know that he only said he cared—"

"Loved."

Jane glared at her friend. "—_cared_ because he was trying to distract me. I thought about asking Archangel Michael if I could be reassigned, but I just can't let Alexander go."

"Alexander? Or Loki?"

Jane ignored her. "So, I think I'm going to see if I can find a nice angel to settle down with. Does Archangel Chamuel still do those chocolate mixers for single angels?"

"His chocolate and caramel truffles are _legendary_," Sif moaned.

Jane brightened. "So you've been to one. What are they like?"

"Well, I went for the date and stayed for the truffles. I left with a one pound bag."

Jane deflated. "You found no one? At all?"

Sif sighed. "No. As it turns out, I'd rather be with my horses. Jane, you do realize that you would have to give some commitment to dating. I know how much your work means to you and dating would mean devoting your free time to your potential angel partner."

Jane waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, so I'd have to give up watching my programs. So what? Isn't the sacrifice of having a meaningful relationship and a potential partner for the rest of my existence worth it?" The last bit stuck in her head: _for the rest of my existence._

"And there it is. You're not ready," Sif told her.

"What? I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to. I saw the look of dread on your face."

"Oh, poppycock. I'm just going to the square to find out when the next mixer is and then I am going to pop in on Alexander. Bye, Sif!" Jane flew off and Sif watched her go thinking that Jane wasn't so much flying _to_ something by wanting to date, but flying _from_ something. Namely a certain devil…

xxxxxxxx

Loki looked up as Jane floated into Alex's living room. She looked around, frowning.

"He's in bed," Loki said. "Apparently not even the fact that he had anal sex for the first time ever is consolation enough for what he did."

"Anal sex doesn't make everything better. Go figure," Jane said.

"It can make some things better," Loki said with a grin. "Wanna try it?"

Jane shot him a withering glare. "No. And I don't want you to talk to me like that anymore."

His brow furrowed. "Like what?"

"I do not wish for you to make lewd comments anymore in my presence."

"Jane. I'm a devil. My entire existence is made up of being lewd."

"Just the same. Direct it to your work. Not to me."

Loki studied her with narrowed eyes. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean" she asked and ran a hand through her hair.

"For one thing, you won't look at me."

She glanced at him and then looked away. "Happy?"

"No," he said frankly and stood. He ambled over to her and she inched away. "Don't tell me you're still upset about our spat yesterday?"

She shook her head.

"Jane, cut it out. Look at me. We argue all the time over Alexander it doesn't mean anything – _would you look at me_?"

She looked at him sharply and he smiled. "There she is. My beautiful angel." He moved toward her and she flung a hand out. He stopped. "Jane? What the hell?"

"I have figured it out, Loki."

"Figured what out?"

"That the only reason you kissed me and said you cared—"

"Loved."

She glared at him. "—_cared_ about me, was so that you could butter me up."

"Well, yeah. I kissed you to hopefully get you to admit that you feel something for me, too."

"No, you did it so that you could have your way with Alexander."

"Well, shit, Jane, I didn't even think of that." He chuckled. "It's possible you're more diabolical than I am. You did drop me pretty high up and I nearly impaled myself on a - _are you crying_?" Loki was horrified. Jane didn't cry often, and when she did it was because she was seriously upset. Usually it was over Alex and he could get her to stop with a few quips about how he'd destroy Alex's life. This was different and he felt out of his element.

He wanted to…well, shit. He wanted to comfort her. Make her bloody _stop_. Anything to make her stop with the crying. He went to her and did what he saw humans do all the time when someone they loved was upset. He hugged her.

She shoved him away.

"Comforting you is a lot harder from across the room, Jane," he told her.

She wiped furiously at her tears. "I don't want nor do I need your comfort. I am ashamed of my behavior. I never should have kissed you. Not once, but twice! And I never should have dropped you. That was a terrible thing to do even if you are a devil."

He rolled his eyes. "You angels and your fucking guilt. I'm not upset with you, Jane. I knew why you did it. I knew you were worried about Alexander. I knew that I was pissing you off, too."

She looked at him. "Do you admit that you kissed me the second time to distract me?"

He smiled gently. "No. I kissed you because you're so fucking gloriously beautiful when you're angry. I felt the urge to kiss you, so I did."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You devils and your impulses. Can't you control any of them?"

"Why bother?"

She shook her head. "No more kisses, Loki. No more trying to detract me from the job at hand."

"I'm going to say it again: I didn't kiss you to detract you from Alexander. That was not my intention the first time or the second time."

"I don't believe you."

"It doesn't mean it's not true. I am _capable_ of telling the truth, Jane, and you know it."

They stared at each other and then finally, she looked away. "For what it's worth I am sorry I dropped you."

"You caught me before I hit those trees. It's fine."

She nodded slowly. "So, we can put this all behind us and resume our professional relationship. No more kisses—"

"No, I don't agree to that."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

"I still want to kiss you, Jane. _A lot_. And I plan to at the next available opportunity."

"No means no, Loki."

He grinned. "Oh see, that's where you're mistaken, Jane. The next time we kiss you won't be saying no. You'll be saying yes…and probably please."


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Loki leaned in the doorway of Alex's bedroom watching Jane who was perched atop on of Alex's bookcases. She had her elbow bent and resting on a thigh and her chin was perched in the palm of her hand. Alex was napping and Jane was watching him. She hadn't moved in over an hour. She had an almost reverent look on her face and Loki wished she would bestow that look upon him.

After his promise to her that when next they kissed she would be asking for it, she had retreated to Alex's bedroom and stayed there. Loki wondered if being paired with Jane was some kind of practical joke on the part of Asaroth, who had assigned Loki to Alex. Asaroth knew Loki had a type. He always went for the brunettes. And if they were sassy, even better.

Jane was definitely sassy. He liked too, that he could get a rise out of her. Sometimes he said things to just to get that glorious fire in her eyes and her wings all ruffled. Alex was committed to his job, yes, but he was also a believer in mixing business with pleasure.

Jane was his pleasure.

Now that he'd kissed her, he wanted more. Big surprise: a devil wanted more of what he shouldn't have. He knew though, that he wasn't the first devil to want an angel. A lot of devils lusted after angels – there was just something about all that purity. Whether it was because they wanted to corrupt it or somehow prove that evil could master good in the end, all devils had their reasons. Loki even knew of several that had fallen for angels.

He thought perhaps he could bring that up and direct her attention off of Alex and onto him. What did she plan to do with just sitting there and watching him sleep?

He opened his mouth to speak when he heard shouting outside. He ducked out of the bedroom to see what was going on and peered out Alex's living room window. A couple was in the middle of the street shouting at each other. The woman had a bat in her hand and Loki was intrigued. Was there going to be violence and mayhem? He could just imagine the fight this couple's angels and devils were having. It looked like the angels in this particular fight were losing.

"Jane, you should see this!" he called out. That would get her out of mooning over Alex for a while. No answer. "Jane!"

He heard a soft "whoosh" and furrowed his brow. Had she left? No, she couldn't have. The flap of her wings was a lot louder than that. Ignoring the couple fighting, Loki made his way back into Alex's bedroom and looked around. There was no trace of her.

His eyes swept the room and narrowed. Where the hell was she? Where could she have gone? He looked down at Alex as though he might be able to answer, which was ridiculous because he was –

Wait.

Loki's eyes narrowed. Alex had hit REM sleep. Had Jane gone into Alex's dreams? Well. There was only one way to find out…

xxxxxxxx

When Jane popped into Alexander's dream she found herself a bit discombobulated. Dreams had a way of doing that. Considering Jane was an angel, she had been privy to some odd things that the regular human was not accustomed to: animal guides, spirit guides (which more often than not were G.A.'s), and even faeries. Jane had seen it all, and even worked with it all when the need arose.

But dreams…dreams were something she always had difficulty adjusting to which was probably why she didn't often use dreams to communicate with her humans of the past. She had only used it a handful of times with Alexander. And, since he was in a period of self-loathing over what he'd done with _that other woman_, Jane figured this might be the only way to reach him.

She was just glad that Loki had finally left the gosh darn room. It had taken a lot longer than she'd thought for him to get bored enough to wander off. As soon as he had, she had used the opportunity to dive into Alexander's dream and hopefully encourage him to tell Denise what he'd done so they could work on getting past it and strengthening their relationship.

Jane looked around from the shadow of Alexander's dream and took it all in. She had to get her bearings and figure out the "logic" of his dream before jumping into the fray.

Okay, so he was at some convenience store, but the store was in the backyard of his apartment. Registers were set up on the lawn. What were they plugged into…? Dream. It was a dream.

There was a hedgehog buying a Sprite. There was also a Sasquatch checking people out at the register. _Ooookay then._

Alexander was in front of the condoms display, which was held up by an oak tree. Jane rolled her eyes. He had sex on the brain still apparently. But protected sex, so that was a plus. Jane could work with this; she decided and stepped out of the shadows, transforming her image into Denise.

She came up beside Alexander and placed her hand on his slightly rounded belly. Alexander wasn't fat, but his lack of exercise while coupled with his Ho Ho's and Mountain Dew addiction was catching up to him. She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her. He looked like the Alexander of every day. His eyes crinkled at the sides when he smiled and his blue eyes were sharp and clear. He wore a baseball cap to hide his thinning hair and he was dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt.

"I've been thinking about you," he told her.

Good. That meant Alexander did feel mighty guilty for what he'd done and Denise was on his mind.

"Have you?" Jane as Denise asked. "What have you been thinking about me?"

Now Alexander looked sad. "I did something wrong. Something that might make you decide you don't like me very much after all."

Jane opened her mouth to reply as Denise when a snake slithered up Alexander's side. "Don't tell her," the snake hissed as it slithered up Alexander's s arm.

Jane's eyes narrowed. She knew that snake. It was Loki's snake of choice: A diamondback. Her jaw clenched. The snake looked at her and flicked out its tongue. He was taunting her now.

"If you tell her, you'll end up all alone," the snake hissed.

Why did he always insist on sounding like Kaa from The Jungle Book in this form?

Alexander was mesmerized by the snake and Jane put her hand on his face and turned his attention back to her. She smiled encouragingly at him. "You can tell me anything, Alexander." Another thing Jane liked about Denise: she used Alexander's full name just like Jane did.

"She liessss," Loki hissed.

"The snake lies," Jane blurted out. When Alexander tried to look down at the snake, Jane held his head fast and strong. "Pay no attention to it."

Loki slithered up Alexander's chest and then across Jane's arm to look directly at Alexander. "Pay no attention to her. Ssshhe will leave you…it'ssss bessst not to tell."

Now Alexander looked worried. And scared.

"All right, that's it," Jane said and curled her hand around Loki the snake. She looked at his hissing face and glared at him. "You are lying and deceitful, and you are a colossal pain in my bottom. I have had enough of you."

"Don't you want to kissss me?" he hissed and his long tongue came out.

Jane did the only thing she could really do at the moment. She stepped back, and twirled him like a lasso over her head and flung him away.

He shrieked.

Alexander started at the sound and Jane felt the dream quake, like an earthquake. It started to break up, fractions of the dream splintering off. The Sasquatch and his register tilted to the side and fell into an abyss Jane couldn't see. Parts of the convenience store started to do the same thing all around her: break off from the main scene, tilt, and then fall way.

Only she and Alexander remained on solid ground.

He was waking up though; his image was beginning to flicker, almost like a hologram. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Tell me the truth," she whispered, and then she flew out of dream and back into his bedroom.

Loki stood there at the foot of Alexander's bed. Arms folded, foot tapping, and a sour expression on his face. He glared at her as she came to stand beside him. She ignored him and looked down at her charge whose eyes had just snapped open.

He blinked up at the ceiling and then looked over at his cell phone on his nightstand. He reached for it, picked it up and—

"Don't do it!" Loki barked.

Alexander's hand paused over the buttons.

Jane did the only thing she could think to do in that moment. She shouted, "Call Denise!" and then turned to Loki, grabbed him by the face, and kissed him hard on the mouth.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Jane continued to kiss Loki straight through the ceiling and onto the roof of Alexander's apartment building. When their feet landed on the top, Jane finally took her lips off of his. Admittedly, a bit reluctantly too.

He was breathless and when he finally opened his eyes and looked at her he didn't look happy. He looked angry.

"I can't believe you!" he shouted, throwing up his arms.

She blinked. "What?"

He pointed at her, his eyes narrowed into slits. "You only kissed me to distract me. You accuse me of kissing you for that same reason and get upset with me for it, and then you turn around and do the same damn thing!"

Oh. Well, he had a point there.

"You followed me into his dream!" she shouted at him.

"You know I had to, Jane. I couldn't just let you exert your control over him. There has to be a balance—"

"I'd like to tell you what you could do with that balance," she snapped.

His eyes went wide in faux shock. "Jane, Jane, Jane. What would Archangel Michael say if he could hear you now?"

She lifted her chin and sniffed. "I don't care."

"Yes, you do."

Now it was her turn to glare at him.

He opened his mouth to speak and then sighed and shook his head. All the anger had left him and now he just looked…well, sad. Jane furrowed her brows. What did he have to be sad about?

"What is it?" she asked.

He sighed again. "It's just that…it's not like you, Jane, to do something so devious. It kind of hurts that you kissed me just to get me to stop Alex from calling Denise."

Jane studied him. Loki was hurt? No, that didn't sound right. He was a devil and as such he didn't feel actual hurt and pain. He just inflicted it.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Nice try. Now you're trying to manipulate me by preying on my good nature."

"Well, yeah. But I would have preferred that you kissed me because you wanted to, not because you wanted to have control over the situation. I'd like to point out that you were the one that used me and my feelings for you to get what you wanted. I wasn't doing that when I kissed you."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Why do I feel like you're working up to something here?"

"Probably because I am."

"What do you want, Loki?"

"A date."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to go out on a date with you."

She started to laugh. But when he did actually look hurt, she stopped. "You're serious."

He nodded. "Yes."

"A date?"

"Yes."

"There are so many things wrong with that idea I don't even know where to begin."

He shrugged. "Take it from the top."

"All right, one – it's customary for a date for the gentleman to pick up his lady. You can't do that. You're not allowed in heaven. You'll be plunged back to H-E – double hockey sticks quicker than you can say it."

"It would actually take a rather long time to say H-E-double hockey stick so maybe I'd be all right. Unless of course you mean saying hell, which takes considerably less time." She pursed her lips together and just looked at him. He grinned. "Go on. What else?"

"Okay, the big reason? You and I are not allowed to date. Heaven and the other place would have a fit."

Loki stroked an imaginary beard. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"There were only two on that list of 'so many' reasons.."

Irritated, she put her hands on her hips and looked down her nose at him. "Here's a third: I don't like you. You're annoying, pompous, arrogant, and lewd. I don't care to spend any more time in your company than I have to."

He laughed. She frowned. "Oh, Jane," he said. "For an angel, you lie awfully well. To anyone else but me that would have even sounded convincing."

"Someone's full of themselves."

"I never claimed otherwise. How about I sweeten the deal?"

"Is that what we're doing now? Making a deal?"

"You have heard of Dr. Faustus, right? Devils have perfected deals."

She pursed her lips together. "Which means there is a catch."

"No catch, save that you have to go on a date with me. And if you do, I will let you have free reign when it comes to Alex working things out with Denise."

Jane froze and stared at him. That was…that was too good to be true. She was halfway there already considering she was pretty darn sure that once she and Loki had left Alexander's bedroom, he'd called Denise. So all Alexander needed was a little more pushing to ensure he'd come clean and then…and then he'd be safe. For now anyway. Humans were such fragile things.

"There's no other catch than that?" she asked suspiciously.

"None."

"Where would we go?"

"On a picnic."

"Where?"

He smiled. "At the park. You can feed the ducks."

"For how long?"

"I want the day."

Her eyes widened. "An _entire_ day?"

"Yes. And a kiss at the end."

"That must be the catch."

"Hardly. By the end of our date you're going to be begging for it."

She laughed and shook her head. "The ego you devils have never ceases to amaze me."

"Don't you think it's a small price to pay for what I'm offering here? Unless of course my kissing you bothers you so much because you like it more than you're willing —"

"Fine. A kiss at the end of the date. One."

He smiled, clearly amused and Jane glared at him. "Anything else?" she asked.

"I do insist that you play nice during our date. That means you actually engage in conversation with me and attempt to enjoy it."

"If I listen to you—"

"Which you should do more often."

"—then _of course_ I'll enjoy myself because apparently I cannot resist your sparkling personality."

"You know, I'm not sure sarcasm is a virtue…"

Jane gritted her teeth. "All right. One date. One kiss. All in exchange for allowing me to ensure Alexander tells Denise the truth about what he did with _that other woman_."

"Yes," Loki said with a nod. "That about sums it up."

Jane held out her hand. "Shake on it?"

Loki grinned. "Of course." He took her hand but stayed her hand. "Oh, wait."

"Loki…" There was warning in her tone and Loki just ate it right up. Did she really think it was going to be that easy?

"One more thing. I want a kiss."

"I already—"

"No. I want one now. A real one. With meaning."

Jane threw up her hands. "Are you kidding me?!"

He arched a brow. "Are you afraid, my love?"

"No," she said through clenched teeth.

"Then?"

She rolled her eyes, grabbed his face and kissed him. He broke the kiss and shook his head. "As lovely as that was, I want feeling behind the kiss."

"What kind of feeling do you want?" she asked drily. "If you want me to put what I feel for you into then I'd be biting you."

"I mean it, Jane. I have all night. Do you?"

Jane heaved a deep breath and looked up at him, at this impossible devil that infuriated her to no end.

At this impossible devil that exhilarated her and made her feel alive.

She hated what he made her feel and hated that he knew it, too. It wasn't fair. What was the matter with her? She was a good little angel. How had she found herself attracted to a devil? She abhorred everything he stood for.

"I'm waiting." He reached out and cupped the side of her face. "Perhaps I could start?"

She nodded, hating the excitement she felt when he touched her.

He leaned in and she closed her eyes. She couldn't stop the moan that escaped when his soft lips touched hers. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and he brought her closer against, feeling the long, strong length of him.

Then his tongue flicked out and ran along her bottom lip. She gasped and pulled back a fraction of an inch. He grinned and dove in for more. And she let him. She let him kiss her with tongue. Let him nibble at her bottom lip. She felt a certain part of his anatomy hard against her belly and _she liked it_.

She moaned again and then shivered when Loki's lips dribbled to her chin and then along the length of her neck. He tugged at the neckline of her dress and kissed the space between her breasts.

This was getting out of hand.

"Loki, no, wait!" she gasped and pushed away from him. She was breathing hard. So was he.

"Too far?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Round about when…?"

She pointed to her chest.

He nodded. "Noted."

Her gaze drifted to his pants and yep, there it was. The unmistakable sign of his desire. "Have you ever done this with other angels?" she blurted out.

"My eyes are up here, Jane."

He was smirking knowingly when she looked at him and she shot him a glare.

"No," he said. "I haven't. You're the first."

"Is this so you can make me fall from grace?"

He shook his head. He looked troubled as he raked a hand through his hair. "I wish it was that simple, but no. I did entertain the idea for all of five minutes."

"What changed?"

He looked at her. "I saw you. You undo me, Jane."

Jane looked away nervously. She was new to this and didn't know what to do or say. She didn't even know what _this_ was. Aside from wrong. She couldn't even think about what Archangel Michael would do to her or, heaven help her, The Creator.

She thought of the mixer she'd signed up for and wondered if she would ever meet someone that did the same things to her that Loki did.

Why did she doubt it?

"When do you want to go on the date?" she asked awkwardly.

He smiled. "No time like the present. Meet you in the park tomorrow afternoon?"

She nodded. "Okay."

He held out his hand. "Now we can shake on it."

They did and he kissed the back of her hand. "Until tomorrow," he said and disappeared.

Jane flew off, and it didn't occur to her until she was halfway home that Loki had managed to get more than one kiss out of her before they'd shaken on their agreement.

She couldn't help but laugh. He'd no doubt planned it that way.


End file.
